Participated · Seed · May 2026

Graphon AI builds a pre-model intelligence software layer that uses mathematical graphon functions to map hidden structural connections across video, audio, documents, and structured databases. Its continuous multimodal graph technology is designed to bypass token limits of legacy context windows and enable third-party foundation models and autonomous agents to reason over large, interconnected multimodal data arrays. The company has launched production deployments with GS Group to automate customer movement mapping in retail environments and provide real-time safety analytics across industrial construction sites. Management and advisors include former AI and robotics researchers from Meta, Amazon, Google, and NASA, and technical guidance from UC Berkeley professors Dr. Christian Borgs and Dr. Jennifer Chayes. Graphon plans to use its seed funding to further develop its relational representation platform, advance its core technology, and scale infrastructure to support enterprise-wide AI agent frameworks.

Participated · Series B · Apr 2025

Tessell offers a multi-cloud database-as-a-service platform designed to deliver high IOPS, low latency, and price predictability using NVMe infrastructure, claiming 10x the performance and 64–73% savings in three-year total cost of ownership. The platform supports major cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud) and leading database engines including MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB, plus vector extensions and standalone vector databases. Tessell provides zero-downtime migrations and resilience to cloud outages, and enables dynamic database scaling for AI applications. The company has about 143 employees and serves roughly 40 customers, two-thirds of which are in India, including Moody’s, Aditya Birla Capital, Tata Capital, Jubilant Ingrevia, and Forbes. With the new funding, Tessell plans to expand into Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, scale go-to-market in the U.S. and India, and invest further in R&D and product capabilities including potential analytics features.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2025

Biosphere designs benchtop glass bioreactors that are sterilized entirely with UV-C LEDs to reduce contamination risk in cell‑based manufacturing. Its core product is a three‑liter reactor with four LEDs that illuminate the entire chamber and instrumentation. The startup is testing eight reactors as part of a $1.5 million Department of Defense project to explore biomanufacturing high‑performance oils. Biosphere says using LEDs could cut costs by replacing steam sterilization and enabling cheaper materials like plastics rather than heat‑hardened stainless steel or single‑use vessels. The company is building a pilot 100‑liter bioreactor that can be sterilized with its technology and is exploring designs for 40,000–80,000 liter systems. Biosphere has raised $8.8 million in seed funding led by Lowercarbon Capital and VXI Capital, with participation from B37 Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Founders Fund, and GS Futures.

Participated · Series D · Oct 2024

Outrider builds autonomous yard operations systems and offers autonomous yard operations as a service to logistics-dependent enterprises, aiming to improve safety and increase efficiency by eliminating hazardous, repetitive manual tasks. The company works with customers across package shipping, retail and eCommerce, consumer packaged goods, and automotive to launch and scale those operations. Product scaling in 2025 is focused on distribution center applications, while the technology is also suited for intermodal rail and port terminals for future freight-transportation use cases. Outrider is led by founder and CEO Andrew Smith and is based in Brighton, CO. The company has raised over $250M in equity capital to date. With the new funding, Outrider plans to scale to hundreds of systems with key customers and address additional use cases while extending its market leadership and protecting its patented innovations. Outrider develops an autonomous system that combines electric yard trucks, operational software, and site infrastructure to move and manage trailers in distribution yards. The system handles hitching and unhitching, connecting and disconnecting trailer brake lines, and monitoring trailer locations; its latest hardware includes robotic arms designed for harsh environments. Outrider has 20 autonomous systems deployed at customer sites and its test facility as it finishes final capabilities and proprietary safety mechanisms. Customers include Georgia Pacific and other partners that have participated in joint testing since 2019, and the company says its customers represent more than 20% of all yard trucks operating in North America. Outrider employs about 175 people and plans to use the new funding to hire in the U.S. and internationally and to transition from testing and validation to commercial operations at scale. Founded in 2017 as Azevtec, the company aims to productize the system and scale to thousands of systems operating on Outrider software over the next few years. Outrider develops a three-part system comprised of an autonomous electric yard truck, site infrastructure, and software to manage yard operations. The system automates trailer movements, hitching/unhitching, connecting/disconnecting brake lines, and trailer location tracking. The company emphasizes dual benefits of electrification and autonomy—reduced maintenance, lower operating costs, and cleaner power. Outrider targets distribution yards, citing about 400,000 such yards in the U.S. as a sizable opportunity. The Golden, Colorado startup has completed multiple pilot programs (including with Georgia‑Pacific) and now employs 110 people. Financially, the company recently raised a $65M Series B, bringing total funding to $118M. Outrider develops an integrated, three-part system for automating distribution yard operations: management software, autonomous zero-emission yard trucks with vision-based robotics, and site infrastructure. The system handles tasks such as moving trailers, hitching/unhitching, connecting/disconnecting brake lines, and monitoring trailer locations, and integrates with existing supply chain software used by large enterprises. Outrider is demonstrating its solution through pilot programs with Georgia-Pacific and four Fortune 200 companies in designated sections of their distribution yards. The company is led by founder and CEO Andrew Smith and is based in Golden, Colo. It has more than 75 employees, including 50 engineers focused solely on distribution yard automation. The article reports the company raised $53M in funding (seed and Series A rounds).

Participated · Series B · Oct 2024

Vizit offers a patented Visual AI platform built around proprietary Audience "Lenses" that interpret, measure, and predict consumer visual preferences to optimize visual content. Its technology uses synthetic human preferences so creatives and ecommerce teams can deliver personalized, high-converting visuals at scale. Customers include Fortune 500 brands such as Mars, Heineken, and Ghirardelli, which reported outcomes including a 30% increase in conversions and a 10% lift in Amazon sales after deploying Vizit. Vizit positions its product as 'Intuitive AI' that goes beyond generative models by simulating audience reactions and improving digital-shelf performance. The company announced a $25 million Series B to accelerate platform expansion and unlock new markets. Vizit is headquartered in Boston. Vizit builds an AI-powered image analytics platform called the Visual Brand Performance Platform that analyzes organic consumer interactions with commercial imagery to generate predictive models called Vizit Audience Lenses. The platform scores and predicts which images and design elements will capture target audiences’ attention, improve merchandising on digital shelves, and drive ecommerce conversion. Vizit serves enterprise customers in 10 countries across industries, including several of the top 10 food and beverage companies, the largest motorcycle manufacturer, and the largest cosmetics and beauty company. Mars reports that higher Vizit Scores have led to up to 30% more units sold across major retailers. Vizit announced a $10M Series A to fuel growth led by Infinity Ventures and Brand Foundry Ventures, with participation from eGateway Capital, Lakefront Partners, Lubar & Co and others. The company says the funding will be used to help ecommerce, marketing, and creative teams measure, manage, and optimize image effectiveness and to expand its customer footprint.